Van driver to go to trial on assault charges

Tuesday

BEAVER -- Two young girls testified Tuesday against their school van driver, who is charged with inappropriately touching them.

The girls, ages 8 and 7, both of Brighton Township, gave their testimony in a room outside the courtroom with only people necessary to the case around them.

Meanwhile, the man charged with assaulting the girls, Earl C. Peacock, 55, whose last known address was 98 Pleasantview Homes, Beaver Falls, sat in the courtroom and watched along with others in the courtroom on a closed-circuit television.

The Times does not identify victims of sexual abuse.

The 8-year-old testified that she is usually the first student dropped off at the end of the school day, but on Dec. 19 her driver, who was later identified as Peacock, dropped the other children off first then stopped the van near a wooded area.

The girl testified that Peacock told her, "This is what boys can to do you," and then touched her underneath her clothing. She said he then took her home.

The child said she didn't tell her parents right away because she was afraid she would get into trouble. She said she eventually told her grandparents after a friend who rides the same van told her the driver had done something to her.

The 7-year-old victim was very soft-spoken causing some of her testimony to be inaudible in the courtroom. She testified that on Jan. 9 the van drove past her stop and pulled over. She said Peacock told her about "what boys can do," and touched her underneath her clothing. She said her father arrived at the van, and Peacock stopped.

A FATHER'S TESTIMONY

Testifying from the courtoom, the girl's father said he was waiting for his daughter at the bus stop and saw the van drive by. He said he thought it was strange and called the school to make sure his daughter had gotten on the van.

After calling the school, he said he waited for a few more minutes, called the school again and was told the school would contact the bus garage.

In the meantime, the father said a motorist stopped and asked if he was waiting for the van. He said she told him a van was pulled over on the side of the road and may have been broken down, so he got in his car and found the van.

He testified that he didn't see the driver in the seat then realized the driver was in the middle of van with his daughter.

Peacock said he was lecturing the little girl about not standing up or moving around on the van, the father said.

The father said he told Peacock he shouldn't be lecturing his daughter about anything, and if there was a problem, Peacock should have notified him or the school.

"I was becoming pretty animated," the father said. He said Peacock started backing up, and that's when he noticed his daughter looked as if she had been crying.

The father said he got on the van, got his daughter out and put her in his car, and Peacock jumped in the van and took off. It was then that his daughter told him what had happened.

"My first reaction, I was going to the bus garage," the father said. Instead, he said, he called the school to notify them of what had happened and drove to the Brighton Township police station to report the incident.

After the hearing, Peacock's defense attorney, Gerald Benyo, said his client continues to maintain his innocence. He said there are some small inconsistencies in the testimony that need to be investigated. He said he found it troubling that the victim in the first case didn't report the incident until after she had heard about a similar incident from the second victim.

In the case involving the 8-year-old, District Judge Douglas Loughner held to court charges of aggravated indecent assault, indecent assault, endangering the welfare of a child, unlawful restraint and unlawful contact with a minor. Because no evidence was presented in the testimony, one count of indecent exposure was dismissed.

In the case involving the 7-year-old, Loughner held to court charges of aggravated indecent assault, indecent assault, indecent exposure, corruption of minors, endangering the welfare of a child, unlawful restraint and unlawful contact with a minor.

Peacock has been in the Beaver County Jail since his Jan. 17 arrest. His bond is $20,000 in each case.

He had been employed by Ferguson Transportation and was driving the van for Beaver Area School District. Ferguson Transportation fired Peacock on Jan. 12.

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